Kalshi Raises $1B, Doubling Valuation to $11B
MegaETH's USDm Pre-Deposits | JESSE Token Launch Hit by Snipers
Marco Manoppo & Karon Pangestu
November 21, 2025
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Good Morning.
Kalshi pulled in $1B at an $11B valuation, doubling its worth in just weeks and easily becoming the headline deal in an otherwise slow funding cycle. The raise comes as Kalshi keeps outpacing Polymarket in volume, adding even more heat to their rivalry.
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In Today's Email:
What Matters: JESSE Token Launch Hit by Snipers as Volume Surges đź‘€
Founders Highlight: David Jeong of Tread.fi 👨
Deal Flows: Kalshi Raises $1B, Doubling Valuation to $11B 💰️
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Narratives: Real-Yield Stablecoins
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WHAT MATTERS
JESSE Token Launch Hit by Snipers as Volume Surges
State of play: JESSE, the new creator coin from Base founder Jesse Pollak, launched with sharp volatility and immediate sniper activity.
One wallet spent about $250K at deployment and moved the tokens to another wallet that dumped for around $800K, securing roughly $600K profit before Pollak even posted the contract.
On-chain data shows heavy speculation. JESSE is trading near $0.017 with a $17.3M FDV and $4.6M liquidity.
The pair has already generated $23.6M in 24-hour volume and more than 44,000 trades.
The token is up 397% on the day, though it has seen fast swings, including an 8% drop in the last hour.
The 15-minute chart shows an early vertical spike, a sudden crash, and repeated rebound attempts as traders rotate in and out.
Activity remains busy, with constant small buys and sells around the $0.0172 range.
Pollak calls JESSE a creator coin rather than a meme token, but his BASE token incident earlier this year still shadows the launch.
Why it matters: Even with a clean, public mint, snipers jumped in instantly and set the tone for the whole market.
Our take: The volume shows real interest, but the early sniper profit makes it clear this still trades like a meme coin. Any long-term narrative needs more than hype.
For builders and investors: Treat the first waves of trading as pure speculation until the token proves it has staying power.
BUILDER-INVESTOR HIGHLIGHT
David Jeong of Tread.fi
Intro: David Jeong is the CEO and the Founder of Tread.fi, a crypto trading terminal and OEMS for retail and pro traders
David is also an Advisor at Magic Newton Foundation, an independent organization dedicated to advancing the adoption of the Newton Protocol.
Previous background: David spent more than 7 years at Morgan Stanley in NY as a VP in Quantitative Research. He worked in the Institutional Equity Division under MSET, where he focused on algorithmic execution, trading models, and execution analytics.
The big idea: David said that Tread.fi goal is to offer the best algorithmic trading/execution platform that leverages the strengths of blockchain technology.
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INSIGHTS
MegaETH Opens USDm Pre-Deposits With $250M Cap
MegaETH will open pre-deposits for its new stablecoin, USDm, on Nov. 25 as part of its rollout ahead of mainnet launch. USDm is issued through Ethena’s USDtb system, giving it a reserve structure similar to institutional-grade stables.
The program is capped at $250M, with no individual deposit limits, and will run on a first-come basis.
Only users who completed KYC during last month’s MEGA token sale can participate.
The sale drew more than $1.39B in max bids, but residents from restricted regions, including the US, UK, China, and Russia, are excluded.
Deposits must be made in USDC on Ethereum and will remain locked until mainnet goes live.
Pre-depositors will receive consideration toward MegaETH’s upcoming rewards campaign.
DEAL FLOWS
Kalshi Raises $1B, Doubling Valuation to $11B
Deal flows slowed a bit this week - we saw $120M+ in deals đź’Ľ
Kalshi has secured $1B in new funding, pushing its valuation to $11B, according to TechCrunch. The round was led by Sequoia and CapitalG, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, Anthos Capital, and Neo.
The raise comes only weeks after Kalshi closed a $300M round that valued the company at $5B.
Kalshi has been outperforming Polymarket in monthly volume since September, recording $4.4B in October compared with Polymarket’s $3.02B.
Polymarket is reportedly seeking a new raise at a $12B to $15B valuation, while ICE agreed to invest up to $2B.
Deal flows in the past week:
QUICK BITES
Spot bitcoin ETFs return to positive flows.
Kalshi secures $1B in latest funding at $11B valuation.
JPMorgan says Strategy could face billions in outflows.
Lawmakers clear Trump pick Michael Selig to lead the CFTC.
WLFI reallocates funds following 'third-party security lapses.'
Rep. Davidson introduces bill to allow taxes to be paid in BTC.
MegaETH to open pre-deposit window for USDm stablecoin next week.
BlackRock files Delaware name registration for iShares Staked ETH ETF.
JPMorgan says crypto market correction appears driven by retail selling.
NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME
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